Window
Window
International terrorism poses a multidimensional threat. Our
coalition must use every tool of statecraft to defeat it.
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Insight U.S.-fighting terrorism
A long, hard campaign
JP/3/Powel (Insight)
A long, hard campaign
Colin L. Powell
U.S. Secretary of State
Washington, D.C.
The mass murders that were committed on Sept. 11 under the
direction of Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda network have united
the world against international terrorism. Some 80 countries lost
citizens in the attacks. From our shared grief and shared resolve
can come new opportunities not only to defeat terrorism, but also
to work with other nations on a range of important issues of
global concern.
A host of countries and international organizations have
answered President George W. Bush's call for a worldwide
coalition to combat terrorism -- among them NATO, the European
Union, the Organization of American States, the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations, the Organization of African Unity, the
Arab League and the UN General Assembly and Security Council.
Indeed, the Security Council unanimously adopted a historic
resolution obliging all 189 member states to stop terrorist
travel, money flows, planning and other support, and to cooperate
in bringing terrorists to justice.
Some
countries will take part in the military response against those
involved in the atrocities of Sept. 11.
Others, while not participating directly in military action,
will provide logistical support or access to bases and staging
areas or overflight rights. And many will contribute to
humanitarian efforts to help the millions of innocent Afghans who
have suffered under the Taliban regime -- a regime that seems to
care more about Osama bin Laden and his terrorists than its own
starving citizens.
Coalition members also will work to disrupt and destroy
terrorist networks over the longer term by sharing intelligence
and other critical information, cooperating in law enforcement
and cutting off terrorists' financial lifelines. This will be a
long, hard campaign, measured in years and fought on many fronts.
For such an effort, our coalition will have the flexibility to
evolve.
And the very process of participating in this great global
campaign against terrorism may well open the door for us to
strengthen or reshape international relationships and expand or
establish areas of cooperation.
Already, our alliances in Europe, Asia and the Western
Hemisphere have been reinvigorated by invocations of the
collective defense provisions of the NATO, ANZUS and Rio
treaties.
Russia and China, two great powers in transition whose
successful integration into the international community we seek,
have contributed to this unprecedented global effort. Developing
habits of consultation and cooperation against international
terrorism can create opportunities to deepen our relations with
both countries in other spheres.
Pakistan and India, bitter rivals, have both joined the
coalition. This may present an opportunity for both countries to
explore new ways of thinking about stability on the Subcontinent.
The millions of our fellow Americans of the Islamic faith, and
the 10 Muslim nations that lost citizens in the Sept. 11 attacks,
need no convincing that the killers and their accomplices pervert
Islam when they use it to justify their appalling crimes.
Out of a deep sense of shared humanity, and a chilling
appreciation of common vulnerability to terrorism, we see new
scope to strengthen our relations with the Islamic world.
In this global campaign, the U.S. welcomes the help of any
country or party that is genuinely prepared to work with us, but
we will not relax our standards and we will continue to advance
our fundamental interests in human rights, accountable
government, free markets, nonproliferation and conflict
resolution, for we believe that a world of democracy, opportunity
and stability is a world in which terrorism cannot thrive.
Throughout the campaign against international terrorism, the
dedicated men and women of the State Department at our posts
abroad and here in Washington will be on the front lines just as
surely as those who wear the uniform. We will not let terrorism
hijack American foreign policy. The president has urged the
American people to get back to the business of their daily lives.
So, too, the U.S. will continue to pursue a full international
agenda -- from promoting good governance to cooperating with
other countries to stem the HIV/AIDS pandemic, establish a post-
cold-war strategic framework, launch a new trade round and foster
peace in the Middle East.
Terrorism has cast a shadow across the globe. But the global
resolve to defeat it has never been greater and the prospects for
international cooperation across a broad range of issues have
never been brighter. As President Bush said the other day when he
visited the State Department: "Out of this evil will come good.
Through our tears we see opportunities to make the world better
for generations to come. And we will seize them."
This article first appeared in Newsweek magazine, Oct. 15